Roller Coaster

Not long after the Jaguars-Flying Waves game began, Kogure missed consecutive three-pointers, while the Jaguars' offense ran like clockwork. Aside from Sakuragi, the other four Jaguars had all scored. The 11:1 opening score was quite unexpected.

The Flying Waves attacked.

"Fujima, it's time!" Moriyama hoped Fujima would step up.

Sure enough, Fujima's eyes changed when he dribbled this time. The calmness in them suddenly turned murderous, and his brows drew tight.

Fujima did not call for a screen. It looked like he wanted to take Rukawa Kaede one-on-one.

As Fujima dribbled, he suddenly accelerated, lowered his center of gravity, and drove past him.

"His center of gravity is way too low! He'll lose his balance and fall like that!" Omoki could see it clearly from the sideline. Fujima had bent so low that his chin was practically touching his knees!

To Rukawa Kaede, Fujima's drive was like a rock rolling past him. Forget stealing the ball—he could barely even touch him!

That step completely blew past Rukawa Kaede, but Fujima's body did stagger, as though he were about to fall.

"That useless Rukawa Kaede got beaten! Watch me!!" Seeing Rukawa Kaede get past, Sakuragi immediately rotated over to help.

But Fujima's center of gravity was so low that Sakuragi pounced straight onto him like a hungry tiger!

"Tweet! Defensive number 6, blocking foul! Offensive number 4, two free throws!" The referee's whistle stopped the game.

The instant Sakuragi lunged at him, Fujima instinctively tossed the ball out. Cleverly, he drew Sakuragi into a shooting foul.

"Idiot, this isn't a sumo match." Rukawa Kaede mocked Sakuragi.

"Stupid fox, who told you to let him get past you so easily?!"

"All right, all right! Stop arguing, you two..." Seeing Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi start bickering again, Miyagi hurried over to mediate.

"Fujima's earlier drive really did have an extremely low center of gravity. I don't know whether it was a desperate gamble or... If Sakuragi hadn't gone over to help... Let's keep watching!" Coach Omoki did not believe this was one of Fujima's usual weapons.

Fujima made both free throws, and the Flying Waves finally broke their scoring drought with their first points of the game.

"Don't rush, everyone. We're still ahead!" Miyagi dribbled the ball across half court.

Fujima was especially focused on defense this time. He lowered his center of gravity and stared unblinkingly at Miyagi's dribbling, occasionally looking back to survey the overall situation.

Miyagi passed the ball to Rukawa Kaede, with Kogure now guarding him!

"Come on, Rukawa Kaede. Let's see how much you've improved these past few years!" Kogure seemed quite interested.

Rukawa Kaede said nothing and did not dribble either. It seemed he wanted to create an opportunity for his teammates.

Sure enough, the opportunity came!

Using Akagi's high-quality screen, Miyagi shook free into open space. Rukawa Kaede got him the ball right on time. Standing beyond the three-point line, Miyagi did not hesitate. He normally did not shoot many threes, but his earlier baskets had boosted his confidence somewhat.

Swish!! The three-pointer went in!

"Beautiful!!! Miyagi!! Hahaha!" Sakuragi had just been battling for position in the paint, but the moment he saw the ball go in again, he shook free of his opponent and ran back with a goofy grin like a child.

"Miyagi is absolutely on fire today! He's two for two on two-pointers, one for one from three, and has two assists. He's completely brought the Jaguars' offense to life! No one expected this before the game... Fujima, it's all on you now!"

Moriyama's pregame plans had been thrown into complete disarray by Miyagi's hot hand. Even a timeout had failed to stop it, so now Moriyama could only rely on Fujima to save the day.

Moriyama had not misjudged Fujima. After returning, Fujima drove again with his knees almost brushing the floor, blowing directly past Rukawa Kaede. Sakuragi did not dare help this time, and the other Jaguars were at a loss as well. Seeing Fujima look as though he were about to fall, none of them stepped in to stop him.

"Then I won't hold back!"

After saying that, Fujima made a move that stunned every Jaguars player!

Fujima's waist seemed to be a spring. In an instant, he straightened his upper body. His body, which had been curled up a second earlier, suddenly unfolded without losing any speed. He charged straight toward the basket. Akagi reacted and went over to help, but it was already too late. Fujima easily finished a left-handed layup.

The whole process was like someone crawling through an extremely low tunnel at high speed. After passing through, instead of losing balance and falling because of inertia, his entire body sprang upright again like an umbrella opening in an instant. Just imagining that scene made it no wonder the Jaguars players were so shocked the first time they saw the move!

"Wow!!!!! That move completely defies human biomechanics!"

"How did he even do that?!"

"I want to see the replay!!"

"Man, I can't believe my eyes!!"

"That didn't even look like something a basketball player could do. It looked like movie special effects!"

Even the home fans, seeing the move for the first time, began discussing it excitedly.

"That is Fujima's signature move—the Roller Coaster! He drops his center of gravity dramatically, then explodes forward so quickly that defenders cannot even foul him before he gets past them. Then, his seemingly off-balance body rises straight back up. The entire sequence is like a roller coaster at an amusement park—plunging sharply, then suddenly rising again. It's incredibly spectacular!! This move requires tremendous core strength! Most people can only manage the first half of it. So far, Fujima is the only one I've seen who can rise back up afterward. This is not something ordinary players can attempt. One mistake could easily result in a serious injury."

Coach Moriyama's analysis made it clear that this was a move other players simply could not perform!

"But... the game has only just begun, and Fujima has already used his trump card. The rest of the game will be difficult, and this move consumes a great deal of stamina! Fujima must have his own plans!!"

After finishing his analysis, Moriyama began worrying about Fujima's stamina again.

"This is my first time seeing a move like that! With such a low center of gravity on his drives, Rukawa Kaede is completely helpless. So what happened earlier was not a coincidence after all. This is troublesome. If we keep Rukawa Kaede on him, Fujima's drives will be a huge threat. But if we let Miyagi, whose center of gravity is lower than Rukawa Kaede's, guard him, we could end up at a complete disadvantage! Let's watch a little longer!"

Omoki's dilemma made sense, but the Jaguars were still leading. Making no adjustments seemed like the best choice for now.

The Jaguars attacked again, with Miyagi still bringing the ball into the frontcourt. This time they changed tactics and gave it to Akagi for an isolation against Kubofuji. Facing the older Kubofuji, Akagi had a clear advantage in footwork. After several consecutive pivots, he went for a hook shot!

Clang, clang, clang!! The ball rolled around the rim, but luck was not on his side, and it did not fall.

This was also the Jaguars' first missed shot of the game.

As Rukawa Kaede ran back on defense, he glanced at Omoki. Seeing him nod, Rukawa Kaede decided to continue guarding Fujima.

Fujiwara grabbed the rebound and passed it to Fujima. Without a word, Fujima went full throttle toward the other end.

He used his speed to shake off Mitsui. When he saw Sakuragi coming for a steal, he spun past Sakuragi as well. Facing Rukawa Kaede again, he did not hesitate—Roller! Coaster! This time, because he had built up speed across the full court, he was even faster. Before Rukawa Kaede could react, Fujima slipped past him again!

"Whoa! Whoa!!! Whoa!!!!!!" Watching Fujima beat three Jaguars defenders in a row from the backcourt, the crowd erupted in excitement and amazement!

This time, Fujima chose a two-handed dunk!

"Beautiful!!!" The Flying Waves bench was ecstatic at Fujima's smooth, one-motion dunk, waving their towels as they shouted.

The entire arena was riled up, and the deafening noise was overwhelming.

Coach Omoki stood up, but he still did not call a timeout. He pressed both hands downward, signaling everyone to stay steady and not get impatient. This time, Omoki chose to trust his players to solve the problem!

They did not let Omoki down! When the Jaguars came back on offense, they again used a Miyagi-Akagi screen. Mitsui found an open opportunity and calmly knocked down a three! The possession had taken less than ten seconds. The Flying Waves home court, which had been full of cheers moments ago, suddenly fell silent again after Mitsui's three. The swing from joy to despair had come far too quickly.

The Flying Waves attacked again. Fujima used the Roller Coaster again and easily got past Rukawa Kaede again, but Akagi was prepared this time. Though he did not block Fujima's shot, his contest had a major impact, and the layup missed.

"It's mine!!" Sakuragi had already sealed off his position and grabbed the rebound. Even against an import player, Sakuragi did not lose out physically.

"You okay, Fujima?" Seeing Fujima breathing somewhat heavily as he ran back on defense, Kogure came over to ask.

"I'm fine!" Fujima said he was fine, but the move really had taken a lot out of him. There were still three quarters left!

Coach Moriyama seemed to notice something as well and deliberately had Kubofuji pick up a foul in order to substitute Fujima out.

Seeing Fujima leave the court, the Jaguars also began making substitutions.

For the remainder of the first quarter, the reserves were evenly matched. The Jaguars entered the second quarter with an eight-point lead, 32:24.